Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
From KFF Health News - Latest Stories:
KFF Health News Original Stories
To Retain Nurses and Other Staffers, Hospitals Are Opening Child Care Centers
More than two years into the pandemic, parents face a child care crisis. That’s why some hospitals are considering starting child care centers to address recruitment and retention troubles.
Citing a Mental Health Crisis Among Young People, California Lawmakers Target Social Media
Legislators are considering two bills that address online addiction among children by taking aim at website features such as push notifications and targeted posts. But Big Tech is fighting the effort, saying companies are already taking steps to protect children.
Journalists Detail the Scope of the Abortion Ruling, Monkeypox, and Public Health Powers
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Political Cartoon: 'Commiseration?'
KFF Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Political Cartoon: 'Commiseration?'" by Clay Bennett.
Here's today's health policy haiku:
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Summaries Of The News:
Covid-19
Biden Tested Positive For Second Day With Rebound Covid Case
AP: Doctor: Biden Tests Positive For COVID For 2nd Day In A Row
In a letter noting the positive test, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the White House physician, said Sunday that the president “continues to feel well” and will keep on working from the executive residence while he isolates. Biden tested positive on Saturday, requiring him to cancel travel and in-person events as he isolates for at least five days in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. (Boak, 7/31)
Reuters: Biden Feeling Well, Isolating After Rebound Case Of COVID
U.S. President Joe Biden is feeling well and continuing his isolation measures after again testing positive for COVID-19, his physician said in a memo released by the White House on Sunday. (Singh, 7/31)
NBC News: Biden’s Repeat Covid Is Due To Paxlovid Rebound. Experts Insist Recurrences Are Rare
Around 1% to 2% of people taking Paxlovid in Pfizer's clinical trial tested positive for the coronavirus after having tested negative. Rebound rates are around 5% among the tens of thousands of people who've taken the drug in real-life settings, the White House Covid response coordinator, Dr. Ashish Jha, said at a news conference last week. "If you look at Twitter, it feels like everybody has rebound," Jha said. "But it turns out there's actually clinical data." (Bendix, 7/30)
The Atlantic: Biden’s COVID Is Back. Is Paxlovid To Blame?
With more than 40,000 prescriptions being handed out a day, we’re taking Paxlovid at about the same rate that we’re taking oxycodone. When Biden got sick last week, he started taking the pills before the day was out. When Anthony Fauci had COVID in June, he took two courses. That enthusiasm is in line with the government’s messaging around the drug. (Gutman-Wei, 7/30)
Many California Covid Cases Are Reinfections; BA.2.75 Is Spreading
The Mercury News: 1 In 7 New COVID Cases In California This Month Are Reinfections
New data from California’s public health department show that in the first three weeks of July there were more than 50,000 documented reinfections, accounting for 1 in 7 new COVID cases through the middle of the month. (Blair Rowan, 7/31)
Becker's Hospital Review: 12 States With BA.2.75 Cases
A dozen states have reported cases of the newest omicron subvariant BA.2.75 as of July 29, early disease surveillance data shows. The subvariant has numerous mutations that may make it more adept than BA. 5, the nation's dominant strain, at spreading quickly and evading immune protection. (Bean, 7/29)
Reuters: 'Living With COVID': Where The Pandemic Could Go Next
As the third winter of the coronavirus pandemic looms in the northern hemisphere, scientists are warning weary governments and populations alike to brace for more waves of COVID-19.In the United States alone, there could be up to a million infections a day this winter, Chris Murray, head of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), an independent modeling group at the University of Washington that has been tracking the pandemic, told Reuters. That would be around double the current daily tally. (Rigby and Steenhuysen, 8/1)
Bloomberg: US Pandemic Revamp Raises Worry Of ‘More Cooks In The Kitchen’
An effort to give new powers to a US health emergency preparedness and response office is unlikely to clarify what part of the federal government takes charge in future pandemics, say former health officials. (Stein and Griffin, 7/29)
On covid vaccines —
Axios: Biden Administration To Buy 66 Million Doses Of Moderna's Omicron Booster
The Biden administration announced Friday that it has reached a deal with Moderna to purchase 66 million doses of its Omicron variant-specific vaccine booster. (Gonzalez, 7/29)
The Washington Post: D.C. Schools Expand Covid Vaccine Mandate, Unlike Most Other Districts
D.C. students who are 12 and older must be vaccinated against the coronavirus to attend school this upcoming academic year. The youth vaccine mandate in D.C. is among the strictest in the nation, according to health experts, and is being enacted in a city with wide disparities in vaccination rates between its White and Black children. (Lumpkin and Stein, 7/31)
In other pandemic news —
Axios: 1 In 5 Americans OK With Threatening Health Officials
One in five Americans thought it was acceptable to threaten or harass public health officials over pandemic business closures as of last summer, research in JAMA Open Network shows. (Bettelheim, 8/1)
Capitol Watch
Spending Bill Would Crack Open Long-Shut Door On Medicare Drug Talks
Axios: Biden Poised To Deliver On Decades-Long Democratic Promise
Democrats have been campaigning for 30 years on promises they'd let Medicare directly negotiate the cost of prescription drugs — and after all that time, they might finally be about to achieve it. (Bettelheim and Owens, 8/1)
Bloomberg Government: Democrats Face Tough Messaging War On Prescription Drug Bill
Democrats want to go into their August recess telling their constituents they’re lowering what they pay for medicines — but many of their promised changes won’t be felt for years, and only by a fraction of the nation. Drug-pricing legislation is expected to get a vote in the Senate as soon as this week as part of a larger domestic policy package. The pharmaceutical industry, conservative groups, and Republican lawmakers are already bashing the measure in television ads and in town halls, painting it as ineffective and harmful to drug innovation. (Ruoff and Cohen, 8/1)
The Washington Post: A Policy Win And An Economic Hit Mark Turbulent Week For Biden
Now the question becomes whether his run of legislative wins — particularly if Democrats manage to pass their health-care, climate and clean energy bill, which contains a hugely popular measure to let Medicare negotiate the prices of some drugs — will be enough for Biden to help overcome the stubbornly high inflation that has helped sink his approval ratings. (Abutaleb, 7/31)
The Hill: Barrasso Says Sinema ‘Not Going To Easily Be Twisted’ On Manchin-Schumer Deal: ‘This Is Far From Done’
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) on Sunday said the new spending deal between Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced last week is “far from done,” suggesting possible opposition from moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). (Dress, 7/31)
On the veterans health bill —
Politico: Toomey Defends Delay Of Veterans Health Bill, Says He Will Back It If Amendment Passes
Sen. Pat Toomey on Sunday defended his decision and that of his Republican colleagues’ last week to block the passage of a bill that aims to expand health care access to veterans exposed to burn pits. (Bice, 7/31)
New York Post: Chuck Schumer Said He Will Tee Up Vets Health Care Bill For Another Vote This Week
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday he intends to put a health care bill for military veterans exposed to deadly toxins up for a vote again this week after 41 Republicans senators blocked it, accusing Democrats of using a “budget gimmick” to hide million of dollars in spending. (Moore, 7/31)
Reproductive Health
Amid Infighting, Indiana Senate Clears Abortion Ban With Rape Exception
AP: Indiana Senate Narrowly Passes Near-Total Abortion Ban
Indiana state senators narrowly passed a near-total abortion ban Saturday during a rare weekend session, sending the bill to the House after a contentious week of arguments over whether to allow exceptions for rape and incest. (Rodgers and Callahan, 7/30)
Indianapolis Star: Trans & Nonbinary People React To SB 1, Indiana Abortion Restrictions
Between 462 to 530 trans and nonbinary individuals received abortions in 2017, according to data from the Guttmacher Institute. Around 1.2 million adults identify as nonbinary as of 2021, which includes people who are transgender, as reported by UCLA's Williams Institute. The same source states that in 2022, more than 1.6 million individuals aged 13 and up identify as transgender. (Kane, 8/1)
Regarding bans in West Virginia, Florida, and Ohio —
AP: WVa Delays Chance To Pass 1st New Bill Since Abortion Ruling
West Virginia lawmakers passed up the chance Friday to become the first state to approve new legislation restricting access to abortions since the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last month removing its protected status as a constitutional right. (Raby, 7/29)
ABC News: Women's Health Doctors Say They Feel Increased Scrutiny Amid Abortion Bans
In nearby Tampa, Dr. Rachel Rapkin, a board-certified OBGYN, said she feels patients in Florida are getting "substandard care" because of the new abortion restrictions. "After seeing what's happened to doctors like Caitlin Bernard in Indiana who are being so intensely scrutinized ... doctors are really scared to provide what should be standard of care to our patients," Rapkin told ABC News. "And patients are getting substandard care now." (Kindelan, 8/1)
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: Less Income, Education Associated With Learning About Pregnancy After Ohio’s 6-Week Abortion Limit, OSU Study Suggests
Low-income women with less education are significantly more likely to discover their pregnancies after six weeks, too late now for an abortion in Ohio, new research from Ohio State University suggests. (Washington, 8/1)
On abortion and contraceptive access —
The Hill: McDonough Says VA Looking At Abortion Care Options In States With New Restrictions
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough on Sunday said his department is examining how to best protect abortion access to veterans after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, but he declined to provide a specific path forward. CNN “State of the Union” co-anchor Jake Tapper asked McDonough to respond to a letter from 24 Senate Democrats calling on the department to allow abortion services at veteran hospitals. (Schonfeld, 7/31)
The Boston Globe: Baker Signs Abortion Rights Expansion Bill Into Law
Governor Charlie Baker on Friday signed a bill that broadens access to abortion in Massachusetts and helps shield providers from out-of-state prosecution, putting on the books an expansion of the state’s already extensive reproductive rights statute. (Stout, 7/29)
The Boston Globe: After Roe V. Wade, More College Students Want Contraception Vending Machines On Campus
Students at New England universities are organizing to install emergency contraceptive vending machines on their campuses to increase access to sexual health resources following the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Although abortion remains legal in the region, many university students are concerned about access to contraceptives because they come from states where abortion has been banned or threatened in the wake of the Supreme Court decision in June. (Mogg, 7/31)
San Francisco Chronicle: How Abortion Clinics Are Managing Rise In Out-Of-State Patients
Planned Parenthood Northern California created a new position this month — a patient navigator whose role is to help out-of-state abortion seekers navigate reproductive health care services in the Golden State. The organization said it saw a 10% increase in monthly callers after the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. (Pak, 7/31)
Also —
ABC News: Abortions In Young Girls Are Not Uncommon, Experts Say
According to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health policy research organization, there were 4,460 pregnancies among people ages 14 and younger in 2017. The institute estimates that around half of those pregnancies, 1,960, ended in abortion. (El-Bawab and DiMartino, 7/31)
KHN: Journalists Detail The Scope Of The Abortion Ruling, Monkeypox, And Public Health Powers
KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed the impact of the Supreme Court decision on abortion on SiriusXM’s “The Briefing With Steve Scully” on July 28. ... KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber discussed monkeypox on Newsy’s “Evening Brief” and on C-SPAN’s “Washington Today” on July 25. She also discussed monkeypox and public health litigation on WAMU’s “1A” on July 22. (7/30)
Outbreaks and Health Threats
Experts: Monkeypox Is The Next Public Health Failure, After Covid
AP: In Race For Monkeypox Vaccines, Experts See Repeat Of COVID
While monkeypox is much harder to spread than COVID-19, experts warn if the disease spills over into general populations — currently in Europe and North America it is circulating almost exclusively among gay and bisexual men — the need for vaccines could intensify, especially if the virus becomes entrenched in new regions. (Cheng, 7/30)
The Hill: Gottlieb Predicts Monkeypox Will Become Public Health Failure
Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb penned an op-ed in the New York Times published on Saturday arguing that the United States lacks a federal infrastructure capable of dealing with public health emergencies like monkeypox and COVID-19. “Our country’s response to monkeypox has been plagued by the same shortcomings we had with Covid-19,” Gottlieb wrote in the op-ed. (Schonfeld, 7/31)
Read Dr. Scott Gottlieb's editorial here —
More on the monkeypox vaccination effort —
San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Clinic Reserves 30% Of Monkeypox Vaccines For These Men Who Are The Hardest Hit
San Francisco health officials are reserving a portion of monkeypox vaccine appointments at the city’s largest public vaccination clinic for residents who have been hit hardest by virus: gay and bisexual men of color, especially from the Latino community. (Ho, 7/29)
Salt Lake Tribune: Monkeypox In Utah: What You Should Know About Current Case Counts, Vaccine Access
Nicholas Rupp, a spokesperson for the Salt Lake County Health Department, said that Salt Lake County has received the majority of monkeypox vaccine doses that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has allocated to Utah for two main reasons: the county is seeing a higher incidence of cases, and it tends to serve more of the “men who have sex with men” (MSM) community than surrounding jurisdictions. (Hufham, 7/30)
Also —
Bloomberg: Kids Are Getting Monkeypox And It Could Make The Outbreak A Lot Worse
Experts at the World Health Organization said this week that they are watching the potential for spread among children “extremely closely.” Already, more than 80 kids across several countries have contracted monkeypox, largely through household contacts, the agency said in a media briefing. (Muller, 7/29)
Stat: The Campaign To Rename Monkeypox Gets Complicated
Since the earliest days of the current global monkeypox outbreak, scientists and public health authorities have been calling for the disease to be renamed, arguing that it has racist overtones and carries a stigma that will hinder efforts to stop its spread. (Branswell, 8/1)
Healthcare Personnel
Hospitals Expand Incentives To Keep Scarce Staff Happy
Becker's Hospital Review: Beyond The Dollar: Hospitals Embrace Flexibility To Retain Workers
Competitive pay, on-site day care, housing and tuition reimbursement/assistance programs, and even covering employees' gas costs to get to work are among monetary incentives that will likely continue, but the next phase of recruitment and retention should prioritize giving employees more autonomy in their schedules, several chief nursing and medical officers told Becker's. (Gooch, Carbajal, Gonzalez and Schoonover, 7/29)
KHN: To Retain Nurses And Other Staffers, Hospitals Are Opening Child Care Centers
When Jennifer Lucier and her husband found out they were expecting a baby in 2016, they immediately made three phone calls. The first was to her mother. The second was to her husband’s family. And the third was to the Roper St. Francis Healthcare Learning Center. That last call, she felt, was particularly urgent. Lucier wanted to secure a spot for her unborn infant on the day care’s long waiting list. (Sausser, 8/1)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: St. Louis Nursing School, Open 124 Years, Closes Due To Finances, Enrollment
The Lutheran School of Nursing, which first opened its doors in 1898 but has struggled in recent years with finances and enrollment, has closed. (Neman, 7/31)
More on health care costs and coverage —
Fierce Healthcare: Health Systems Confident Payers Will Concede Higher 2023 Rates
Executives from some of the country’s largest for-profit health systems say it’s likely their organizations will be able to pass rising cost pressures along to commercial insurers during the next round of contract negotiations. Speaking to investors during earnings calls this past week, the hospital chains each reported limited non-COVID volumes, supply chain interruptions and pricey contract labor rates that are expected to persist through the end of the year. (Muoio, 7/29)
Axios: Employees Are Increasingly On The Hook For Their Medical Costs
The growth of high-deductible health plans led to people with employer-sponsored coverage paying for a larger share, on average, of their health care costs between 2013 and 2019, according to a new analysis by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. (Owens, 7/29)
The Boston Globe: Demand For Mental Health Care Rising In Asian American Communities As More Speak Openly Of Struggles
Boston organizations serving Asian American communities say they’ve seen an uptick in people seeking mental health services. To meet that need, they’ve created culturally sensitive mental health programming and adding professionally trained staff. VietAID, a group that serves Dorchester’s Vietnamese community, plans this fall to launch a two-year mental health program in response to increased community interest. (Huynh, 7/29)
Environmental Health
Forever Chemicals' Impact On Americans' Health Will Cost Billions
The Hill: Exposure To ‘Forever Chemicals’ Costs Americans Billions: Study
Daily exposure to cancer-linked “forever chemicals” is expected to cost Americans billions of dollars over the current population’s lifetime, a new study has found. The associated increase in medical bills and decrease in worker productivity could generate economic losses between $5.52 billion and $62.6 billion, according to the study set for publication in the journal Exposure and Health. (Udasin, 7/26)
Also —
North Carolina Health News: People Living With Elevated PFAS Exposure Should Receive Expanded Testing, A New Study Finds
Against the backdrop of mounting evidence that links per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to negative impacts on human health, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) released a study that calls for testing the blood of people with extended exposure to the man-made chemicals. (Atwater, 8/1)
Stars And Stripes: Report Recommends Testing For Those Exposed To ‘Forever Chemicals’ Often Found At Military Sites
Roughly 2,854 locations in the United States are contaminated to some degree by PFAS, and about a quarter of those sites are linked to military installations, according to the 300-page report, which was commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Olson, 7/29)
The Hill: Increasing Levels Of ‘Forever Chemicals’ Seen In Antarctica
After being wafted through the atmosphere and degraded by sunlight, snow then deposits these chemicals into the Antarctic surface. “These findings are a sobering reminder that our industrial activities have global consequences,” said co-author Anna Jones of the British Antarctic Survey. (Melillo, 7/29)
From The States
Homeless Shelters In Anchorage Are Out Of Room As Freezing Temps Loom
Anchorage Daily News: No Place To Go: Anchorage’s Homeless Shelter Capacity Has Been Pushed To The Brink
There is no slack in Anchorage’s homelessness response system. Shelters and housing programs are largely full, many with long waitlists. For the first time in decades, there is no walk-in, low-barrier homeless shelter in Anchorage. (Goodykoontz and Hughes, 7/30)
From New York, New Hampshire, Louisiana, North Carolina, and California —
Stat: U.S. Polio Case Tied To Viruses Seen In U.K., Israel, Suggesting Silent Spread
Genetic analysis of the virus responsible for the first case of polio in the United States in nearly a decade shows it is linked to vaccine-derived viruses recently detected in Jerusalem and London, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative announced on Friday. (Branswell, 7/29)
New Hampshire Public Radio: N.H. Sees Its First Mosquito Batch Of West Nile Virus This Season
New Hampshire health officials have identified the first batch of mosquitoes to test positive for West Nile Virus this year. (7/29)
AP: Changes To Marijuana Laws Among Legislation Taking Effect
New laws overhaul regulation of medical marijuana, including changing the chief regulator of medical marijuana from the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry to the Louisiana Department of Health; and expanding the number of medical marijuana pharmacies allowed to operate in the state. (7/31)
AP: Medicaid Expansion Breakthrough Within Reach In N. Carolina
After a decade of vigorous opposition, most North Carolina Republicans have now embraced the idea of expanding the state’s Medicaid program to cover hundreds of thousands of additional low-income adults. Legislative approval finally appears within reach. (Robertson, 7/31)
KHN: Citing A Mental Health Crisis Among Young People, California Lawmakers Target Social Media
Karla Garcia said her son’s social media addiction started in fourth grade, when he got his own computer for virtual learning and logged on to YouTube. Now, two years later, the video-sharing site has replaced both schoolwork and the activities he used to love — like composing music or serenading his friends on the piano, she said. “He just has to have his YouTube,” said Garcia, 56, of West Los Angeles. (Finn, 8/1)
New Mexico In Depth wraps up its special report on alcohol abuse in the state —
New Mexico In Depth: Every Door Is The Right Door: Alcohol Dependence Is New Mexico’s Biggest Untreated Substance Use Problem. Doctors Can Do More To Treat It
By 2013, Steve Harbin’s alcohol problem was plain to nearly everyone. Once a prosperous salesman in the construction industry, he’d lost his job and health insurance. Gone were the dream house he’d designed in Albuquerque’s foothills and many of the motorcycles he’d owned. The last one, a Kawasaki W650 with a peashooter exhaust, sat in his garage in disrepair. (Alcorn, 7/24)
New Mexico In Depth: Paying The Tab: Scientists Say Policies Can Help The State Cut Excess Drinking, But Lawmakers Listen To Alcohol Interests Instead
Alcohol costs New Mexico dearly. It killed 1,878 residents in 2020, three times the nation’s rate. But getting hammered here is cheap. At the Shop-N-Save on Gallup’s west side, a thirty-rack of Natural Ice beer sells for $24.95 after tax, a little over two hours’ earnings at minimum wage. Total Wine in Santa Fe offers a five-liter box of Franzia Crisp White wine for $15.15, or 45 cents per drink. And you can’t do better than Wal-Mart in Rio Rancho, where a 1.75-liter handle of Aristocrat vodka sells for $11.84, just 30 cents a drink. (Alcorn, 7/24)
New Mexico In Depth: A Sober Appraisal: Reducing New Mexico’s Extraordinary Alcohol Death Rate Will Require A Whole-Of-Society Approach
At a 12-steps meeting in Albuquerque’s foothills, one of hundreds held each week statewide, there were cowboys, Anglo women in golf shirts, and Hispanic day laborers. A woman without housing asked around for a place to stay the night. A downcast man in nurse’s scrubs said he had relapsed but hoped to go home that night, if his wife would have him. New Mexicans can’t neglect the state’s enormous alcohol problem even if they want to. (Alcorn, 7/24)
Science And Innovations
To Beat Alzheimer's, Scientists Try New Ideas, Including Brain Mapping
NPR: Scientists Map Changes In The Brain To Better Treat Alzheimer's Disease
After decades of focusing on the sticky amyloid plaques and tangled tau fibers associated with the disease, brain researchers are searching for other potential causes of impaired memory and thinking. That search is on full display this week at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in San Diego, where sessions are exploring factors including genes, brain injury, clogged arteries and inflammation. (Hamilton, 8/1)
ScienceDaily: A Diabetes Drug Could Protect Against Alzheimer’s
According to a study from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden that was published in the journal Neurology, mechanisms connected to a specific diabetic medication may also help protect against Alzheimer’s disease. The findings suggest that the target protein of the drug may be a promising candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. (8/1)
CNN: The Fight Against Alzheimer's: Where Are We Now?
With so many genes contributing to the development of Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia, scientists are convinced that each person’s journey may be different. “There is a saying: Once you have seen one person with Alzheimer’s, you’ve seen one person with Alzheimer’s,” said Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic in the Center for Brain Health at Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine. (LaMotte, 7/31)
And a scandal over Alzheimer's research continues to simmer —
USA Today: Alzheimer’s Theory Under Scrutiny After Accusation Of Research Fraud
The article centered on a Vanderbilt University neurologist's investigation of images used in the 2006 research paper on the discovery of a type of protein called amyloid beta star 56. Dr. Matthew Schrag concluded published images used to support the research were likely altered, though he stopped short of calling the research fraud, noting he did not have access to the original unpublished images or underlying data. His research was performed outside his duties at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. (Alltucker and Weintraub, 7/29)
The Atlantic: What An Alzheimer’s Controversy Reveals About Academia
For scientists, publication in Nature is a career high-water mark. To make its pages, work must be deemed exceptionally important, with potentially transformative impact on scientific understanding. In 2006, a study of Alzheimer’s disease by the lead author Sylvain Lesné met those criteria: It suggested a new culprit for the illness, a molecule called Aβ*56, which seemingly caused dementia symptoms in rats. The study has since accrued more than 2,300 citations in the scientific literature and inspired years of follow-up work. But an investigation of the original paper and many others by Lesné, described last week in Science, identified numerous red flags indicating the possibility of data fraud. (Nature has added a note to the paper, saying that the work is under investigation and that its results should be treated with caution.) (Grimes, 7/29)
In other scientific developments —
NBC News: World's First HIV-Positive To HIV-Positive Heart Transplant Performed At NYC Hospital
The patient, a woman in her 60s, suffered from advanced heart failure and received the donation, along with a simultaneous kidney transplant, in early Spring at Montefiore Health System in the Bronx, according to a news release. (Burke, 7/30)
Stat: With The Help Of A Sticky, Stretchy Material, Scientists Design A Continuous Ultrasound System
It took hundreds of failed experiments, sticking gummy gels to all sorts of surfaces, for scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology to get what they were looking for: a material so adhesive, it could cement a device to the skin for two full days while still letting sound waves pass through. (Chen, 8/1)
The Washington Post: At Last, An Easier Way To Prepare For A Colonoscopy
Last year — in what experts believe could end the dread that keeps many people from this important screening — the Food and Drug Administration approved a regimen of pills, Sutab, that studies show works just as well as the liquid solutions — without the vile flavor. It’s a 24-tablet regimen: 12 pills the day before and 12 the next day, several hours before the procedure. (Cimons, 7/31)
Editorials And Opinions
Viewpoints: Indiana's Abortion Ban Is Extreme; Disabled People Deserve Bodily Autonomy
The Washington Post: Indiana’s Cruel Abortion Bill Is A Warning Of Post-Roe Reality
On Saturday, the Indiana Senate voted to make abortion illegal in the state. The measure passed with the bare minimum number of votes — not because lawmakers flinched at outlawing abortion but because so many of them believed the bill, with its exceptions for rape and incest, wasn’t strict enough. (Ruth Marcus, 7/31)
The New York Times: Leave My Disability Out Of Your Anti-Abortion Propaganda
Thirty years ago, when my mother was pregnant, an ultrasound revealed troubling abnormalities: the fetus’s organs were misarranged. This condition, she was told by her doctor, correlated with a wide variety of disabilities that could cause the baby to die at birth. The doctor told my mother that she could seek an abortion. She wanted her to know her options. (Kendall Ciesemier, 7/31)
The Boston Globe: My Apps Tracked My Pregnancy And My Abortion: Will Deleting Them Protect Me?
When my husband and I decided we wanted to start our family, I did what most people are told to do: I found an app for that. I downloaded period and ovulation tracking apps as we tried (for longer than we wanted) to become first-time parents. I gave those apps whatever they wanted because I wanted a baby. (Amanda Munger, 8/1)
Politico: More Republican Women Than You Think Have Had Abortions. Here’s How I Know.
Republican-dominated legislatures continue to pass abortion bans with very few exceptions, and Republican politicians either ignore the issue or articulate extreme and alienating views. The party’s lack of compassion on the topic is harmful. There is a growing mismatch between the party’s stance on abortion and the complex beliefs voters in this country have on abortion. (Sam Zaleski, 7/31)
The Atlantic: What Counts As The Life Of The Mother?
For me, pregnancy was “obscene,” in the phrasing of one of my doctors. And mysterious. Over the course of my two pregnancies, more than 40 physicians and midwives, by my count, failed to explain why my blood work kept coming back with so many anomalies, why so many debilitating complications kept piling up in an otherwise healthy woman. (Annie Lowrey, 8/1)
Also —
Los Angeles Times: The Debt Crisis That Sick Americans Can't Avoid
The millions under the weight of medical debt deserve help, both because medical debt is a uniquely unfair form of predatory lending and because of its devastating ripple effects on American families. (Elisabeth Rosenthal, 7/31)
The New York Times: In The I.C.U., Dying Sometimes Feels Like A Choice
During my medical training, death happened in one of two ways. It was either a moment of crisis, doctors rushing into a room, all sound and fury and chest compressions for minutes that felt like hours. Or it was something quieter, entirely divorced from machines, family gathered for the last breaths when the lungs were failing, or the cancer had spread too far. (Daniela J. Lamas, 7/31)
Different Takes: There Are Solutions To Treating Patients In Hospital Hallways
Stat: People Deserve Better Than 'Destination Hallway' In Emergency Departments
As the literal and figurative front door to many hospitals, the emergency department can offer a glimpse into hospitals’ future. And that future, in a word, is gridlock. (Stephen Bohan, 8/1)
The Atlantic: Every New Disease Triggers a Search for Someone to Blame
This summer, yet another disease unfamiliar to most people in the United States is being transmitted around the world—as is the impulse to find someone to blame. (Steven Thrasher, 7/21)
Newsweek: COVID-19 Drove Up Drinking, And Americans Are Dying Faster As A Result
As COVID-19 continues to ravage our communities, researchers like myself are focused on evaluating how the pandemic has affected the mental and physical health of Americans—and determining the best path forward for our collective well-being. (Sasha Deutsch-Link, 7/29)
Modern Healthcare: We're Still On A Learning Curve With Long COVID
As we move through the third year of the pandemic, the specter of long COVID or post-COVID conditions has emerged as a matter of great concern, especially since so much is still unknown. (Dr. Julia Skapik, 7/29)
NBC News: What I Saw In Vegas During An Active Shooter Scare Will Stay With Me Forever
Politicians spend endless hours debating whether mass shootings result from mental health issues. But the mental health issues caused by a constant onslaught of mass shootings don’t get enough of their attention. (Leah Carey, 7/30)