CNBC: The Latest Covid Variant Is 1.5 Times More Contagious Than Omicron And Already Circulating In Almost Half Of U.S. States
There are already dozens of cases across almost half of the U.S. of a new Covid subvariant that’s even more contagious than the already highly transmissible omicron variant. Nearly half of U.S. states have confirmed the presence of BA.2 with at least 127 known cases nationwide as of Friday, according to a global data base that tracks Covid variants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a statement Friday, said although BA.2 has increased in proportion to the original omicron strain in some countries, it is currently circulating at a low level in the U.S. (Kimball, 1/28)

Fox News: 'Stealth' Omicron Variant BA.2 Circulating In Almost Half Of US, But CDC Exercises Caution: Report
Is BA.2 going to be omicron 2.0? There are now at least 127 known cases of the subvariant BA.2, otherwise known as the "stealth" variant, circulating in almost half of the United States that international experts suggest is more contagious as omicron, according to a recent CNBC report. But Kristen Nordlund, a CDC spokesperson, in a Monday statement to The Washington Post, cautions, "Currently, there are insufficient data to determine whether the BA.2 lineage is more transmissible or has a fitness advantage over the BA.1 lineage[omicron]." (Sudhakar, 1/29)

The New York Times: The ‘Stealth’ Omicron Variant Is No Cause For Alarm, But It Could Slow Down The Decline In Cases
In recent days, headlines about a “stealth” Omicron variant have conjured the notion that a villainous new form of the coronavirus is secretly creating a disastrous new wave of Covid. That scenario is highly unlikely, scientists say. But the new variant, which goes by the scientific name BA.2 and is one of three branches of the Omicron viral family, could drag out the Omicron surge in much of the world. (Zimmer, 1/31)

Stat: Early Data Indicate Vaccines Still Protect Against Omicron’s Sister Variant
New data show that vaccines still protect against a spinoff of the Omicron variant, a welcome sign as the world keeps a close eye on the latest coronavirus iteration. BA.2, as the sublineage is known, is part of the broader Omicron umbrella. Scientists are paying more attention to it as it begins to eat into the dominance of the more common Omicron strain, which is technically called BA.1. (Joseph, 1/28)

In related news about omicron —

CIDRAP: Studies Show Omicron Variant Less Severe But Causes More Reinfections
Two studies published yesterday in Eurosurveillance show the Omicron variant leads to fewer hospitalizations than the Delta variant, but an increased risk of infection in vaccinated and previously infected people. (1/28)

NPR: Omicron Symptoms Can Be Milder. Here's Why Patients Are Still Flooding Hospitals
Omicron has filled up U.S. hospitals with more COVID-19 patients than any other surge of the pandemic. But there's been a shift in how the illness behaves since the days of delta, with many cases, even hospitalized ones, milder and quicker to treat. As with earlier variants, COVID-19 can still be a dangerous, unforgiving disease for patients who are vulnerable either because of underlying medical problems or because they're not vaccinated. But it's also increasingly clear that omicron is less likely to inflict the same level of damage as the delta variant. (Stone, 1/29)

The New York Times: When Omicron Isn’t So Mild 
Regina Perez, 57, had never been hospitalized for her lifelong asthma condition until she came down with Covid this month. She started having difficulty breathing, even after taking her usual medications. “It kind of took over, almost,” she said. She wound up at St. Luke’s Hospital in Allentown, Pa., for most of a week at a time when nearly all the Covid patients sampled had contracted the Omicron variant. (Abelson and Jewett, 1/29)

Also —

Bloomberg: Covid-Infected HIV Patient Developed Mutations, Study Shows
A South African woman suffering from inadequately treated HIV, and who harbored Covid-19 for nine months saw the respiratory virus develop at least 21 mutations while in her body, according to a study. Once the 22-year-old adhered to the anti-retroviral medication used to treat HIV and her immune system strengthened she was able to overcome the Covid-19 infection within six to nine weeks, the study, led by scientists from Stellenbosch and the University the University of KwaZulu-Natal showed. The research has not been peer reviewed. (Sguazzin, 1/30)

The Washington Post: Covid May Have Seasons For Different Temperature Zones, Study Suggests 
Covid-19 transmission may have seasonal spikes tied to temperature and humidity, increasing at different times of the year for different locations, a new study in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene suggests. Colder regions, such as the U.S. Northeast, may experience more cases during winter, while warmer regions, such as the southern United States, may see higher transmissions in the summer. More-temperate zones could experience two seasonal peaks. (Patel, 1/28)

In other covid news —

NBC News: Covid Predictions? These Experts Are Done With Them
Scientists say they can outline scenarios for how the virus could evolve, but variants remain Covid’s unknowable wild card. In two years, they have rewritten the script so radically, many researchers are cautious to venture educated guesses of how Covid-19 will play out. “There are various scenarios and they vary between rosy and gloomy,” said John Moore, a virologist and professor at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. He emphasized, colorfully, that anyone saying they knew for sure what would happen next was full of it. (Bush, 1/30)

The Wall Street Journal: Omicron Pushes Health Authorities Toward Learning To Live With Covid-19 
The Omicron variant spreads so quickly and generally causes such a mild form of illness among vaccinated populations that countries are tolerating greater Covid-19 outbreaks, willingly letting infections balloon to levels that not long ago would have been treated as public-health crises. From different starting points, authorities in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific are moving in the same direction, offering a glimpse into a future in which Covid-19 becomes accepted as a fact of everyday life, like seasonal flu. (Yoon, Solomon and Wernau, 1/30)

ABC News: Omicron Amps Up Concerns About Long COVID And Its Causes 
More than a year after a bout with COVID-19, Rebekah Hogan still suffers from severe brain fog, pain and fatigue that leave her unable to do her nursing job or handle household activities. Long COVID has her questioning her worth as a wife and mother. “Is this permanent? Is this the new norm?’’ said the 41-year-old Latham, New York, woman, whose three children and husband also have signs of the condition. “I want my life back.’’ (Ungar and Tanner, 1/31)

Crain's Detroit Business: Pandemic Caused More Mental Illness But Without Staff, Industry At An Impasse
While emergency rooms and intensive care units have been filled with the physically ill during the pandemic, mental health centers are equally overwhelmed. About 400 new patients will enter CNS Healthcare's eight locations this month. That's up from an average of about 150 prior to the pandemic. And the community behavioral health clinic is managing these patients with 60 fewer workers than prior to the pandemic and more than 100 new positions that could be filled. "We're seeing more and more people experiencing levels of crisis and anxiety," said Michael Garrett, president and CEO of CNS Healthcare. "There are a lot of different stressors going on in the world, from the pandemic to economic anxiety. This isolation and loneliness is the perfect storm on our mental health system." (Walsh, 1/28)

San Francisco Chronicle: Can Cannabis Prevent COVID-19? We Asked Experts What A Viral Study Actually Means, And The Answer Is Complicated
It’s not as simple as that, either. According to physician and cannabis clinician Dr. Leigh Vinocur, there’s a major gap between a cannabis compound preventing infection in a lab and dispensary cannabis products protecting humans from COVID-19­­. “We’re a long way from saying cannabis can prevent COVID,” Vinocur told GreenState. “This was a preclinical in-vitro trial, meaning these cells were tested in a test tube, not in humans.” Vinocur explained that, while preclinical trials are an important part of what it takes to create a drug, human trials have to be done before a drug is considered legitimate. This is in large part because dosing does not need to be considered in a test tube, but becomes very important when you start thinking about how to get the required concentration of a given substance into the human body safely. (Esher, 1/28)

AP: Missouri Hospitals Ask Office Workers To Help Nurses 
Hospitals across Missouri are asking staff members and administrators to take on additional duties to help deal with the current surge in COVID-19 patients. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that hospital employees are being asked to pick up shifts helping nurses by doing things like grabbing supplies or answering phones, or by filling absences in areas such housekeeping and patient transport. (1/30)

Hospitalizations continue to rise in many states —

Anchorage Daily News: Alaska’s COVID-19 Case Rate Is Again The Highest In The Nation As Hospitalizations Tick Up
As Alaska once again reports the highest COVID-19 case rate in the nation, the highly contagious omicron variant is continuing to snarl staffing at health care facilities that have had to adapt to the ups and downs of the pandemic. The state on Friday reported 5,897 cases of COVID-19 over the previous two days amid rising hospitalization numbers. Alaska’s seven-day case rate of 2,360.4 cases per 100,000 is higher than any other U.S. state, according to a CDC tracker. (Berman, 1/28)

Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Omicron Has Driven Mississippi To Its Highest Hospitalization Rate Yet
Omicron might loosen its grip on Mississippi in the next few weeks, health officials predicted Friday. "We’re gonna continue to report out a lot of cases, but I really feel like we’re turning the corner,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said. “We’ll start trending down, I think, probably in the next couple of weeks." Byers' optimism is in part driven by the numbers: decreased testing demand and a declining positivity rate. (Haselhorst, 1/28)

Oklahoman: Oklahoma Hospitals Struggling With COVID Surge Get Help From Military
Three military medical teams will be coming to Oklahoma City by early February to support hospitals struggling during the omicron COVID-19 surge, a Health Department spokeswoman confirmed Friday. One Army medical team will work with OU Medical Center, and two Air Force medical teams will work with Integris Health in Oklahoma City, spokeswoman Erica Rankin-Riley said in an email. "All three teams should be in the state by early February," she said. Details about exactly when and how many military members will be supporting the hospitals weren't available Friday. (Branham, 1/28)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Inside A Georgia Hospital’s ICU, Medical Staff Wages War Against COVID
The numbers tell a story. But, from what the critical care doctors and nurses at Braselton’s Northeast Georgia Medical Center can see, the public isn’t listening. Since the omicron variant came roaring onto the pandemic scene two months ago, the state has set records for new infections. While the variant appears to cause a more mild illness in most people than previous strains, especially among those who are vaccinated, the sheer numbers are staggering. Even though a smaller percentage of people are getting critically ill, it’s enough to overwhelm intensive care units. (Oliviero, 1/29)

KHN: In California Nursing Homes, Omicron Is Bad, But So Is The Isolation
Dina Halperin had been cooped up alone for three weeks in her nursing home room after her two unvaccinated roommates were moved out at the onset of the omicron surge. “I’m frustrated,” she said, “and so many of the nursing staff are burned out or just plain tired.” The situation wasn’t terrifying, as it was in September 2020, when disease swept through the Victorian Post Acute facility in San Francisco and Halperin, a 63-year-old former English as a Second Language teacher, became severely ill with covid. She spent 10 days in the hospital and required supplemental oxygen. Since the pandemic began, 14 residents of the nursing home have died of covid, according to state figures. (Marsa, 1/31)

In more covid updates —

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County's Daily Coronavirus Cases Continue Dramatic Decline, But Death Rate Remains High
The decline in the daily numbers comes as numerous family gatherings and community events are scheduled to mark the Lunar New Year this coming week. And with their NFC Championship win over the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, the L.A. Rams earned a trip to the Super Bowl on Feb. 13 in Inglewood. “For residents who are at high risk, including those older, immunocompromised, or with underlying health conditions, gatherings can be especially risky given the still high rates of transmission,” Barbara Ferrer, the county public health director, said in a statement. (Lin II, 1/30)

Health News Florida: Appeals Court Rules There's No ‘Legal Right’ To Force A Hospital To Treat COVID Patient With Ivermectin 
A state appeals court on Thursday said a family did not have a “legal right” to force Mayo Clinic Jacksonville to administer the controversial drug ivermectin to try to keep alive a COVID-19 patient who was on a ventilator. A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal released a 12-page opinion that detailed reasons that it upheld a decision by a Duval County circuit judge to reject efforts by the wife and son of patient Daniel Pisano to spur the hospital to use the drug. The Tallahassee-based appeals court made the decision Jan. 14 but did not explain its reasons until Thursday. Jacksonville news organizations reported this week that Pisano, 71, has died. (Saunders, 1/28)

The Hill: Democratic Rep Tests Positive For COVID-19 Upon Return From Ukraine Trip
Rep. Colin Allred (D-Tex.) announced Sunday he has tested positive for COVID-19 in a breakthrough case after returning from congressional trip to Ukraine. Allred was among 10 House members who recently met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials during two days of meetings amid the mounting tension between Ukraine and Russia. (Oshin, 1/30)

San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco Allows Third Shot For Those Who Got J&J Vaccine
San Francisco residents who got the Johnson & Johnson Janssen coronavirus vaccine and have been boosted with a second shot can now get a third, following an advisory issued this month by the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Regardless of what brand of vaccine people had for their second dose, the city is advising a Pfizer/BioNTech shot for the third. (Ho, 1/28)

The Baltimore Sun: Cheetahs At Maryland Zoo In Baltimore Aid COVID Vaccine Study That’s More Than A Tale Of Big Cat Survival 
In the next few weeks, two African cheetahs living at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore will walk to the edge of their habitat, sit like house pets and allow a keeper to pull their tails through an opening in the fence. This is how the cheetahs, Bud and Davis, will get their COVID-19 vaccines. Two or three weeks later, they will repeat the process so their keeper can get a blood sample. There will be another vaccination and blood will be taken six times in all during the year. The samples will become part of a nationwide study seeking to understand how well the particularly vulnerable species is protected against the deadly coronavirus. (Cohn, 1/31)

Bangor Daily News: Maine’s COVID Vaccine Disparities Are Even Greater Among Young Kids
In Cumberland County, about a third of 5- to 11-year-old children have not yet received a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Just two hours to the north, in much more rural Piscataquis County, that figure is a staggering 82 percent. Maine has seen significant disparities in its county-by-county vaccination rates virtually since vaccines became available to the general public. But those disparities for the general population aren’t nearly as pronounced as they are for the 5- to 11-year-old age group that’s currently the youngest age group eligible to receive the vaccine, and the one that became eligible most recently. (Marino Jr., 1/31)

Also —

NPR: Spotify Will Add A COVID-19 Advisory To Podcasts After The Joe Rogan Controversy
The music-streaming service Spotify says it will implement changes to guard against COVID-19 misinformation after some high-profile artists and public figures criticized the platform for hosting Joe Rogan's hit podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. Music legends Neil Young and Joni Mitchell each pulled their music from Spotify over their objections to Rogan, who experts say has repeatedly made false claims about the coronavirus and vaccines. Over the weekend Nils Lofgren also confirmed he had his music pulled. Author and researcher Brené Brown said she would stop releasing new podcasts until further notice, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have also expressed their concerns about COVID misinformation on the platform. (Hernandez, 1/30)

The Washington Post: Long Island Nurses Made $1.5 Million Selling Fake Coronavirus Vaccination Cards, Prosecutors Say 
For years, Julie DeVuono has offered to help people avoid vaccination. In 2017 and 2018, the nurse’s pediatric practice advertised “vaccine exemption workshops” that it said would detail tips for “the best chance of acceptance.” Now DeVuono and an employee face charges for allegedly selling fake coronavirus vaccination cards and entering them into a state database. Authorities say the pair from Long Island left behind a ledger recording profits of more than $1.5 million in less than three months. (Knowles, 1/310)

AP: Judge Upholds Minneapolis Vaccine-Or-Test Rule For Eateries
A Hennepin County judge has upheld Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s vaccine-or-test mandate for bar and restaurant customers after several business owners asked for a temporary restraining order against the initiative. The mandate that took effect this month requires customers to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative virus test within three days to dine at restaurants licensed by the city. (1/30)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Suit Blocking Vaccine Requirement At Cincinnati Hospitals Tossed
A federal judge in Cincinnati Friday granted a plaintiff's motion to dismiss a lawsuit that sought to block COVID-19 vaccine mandates at five southwest Ohio hospital systems. In his decision, U.S. District Judge Timothy Black accepted a request to dismiss the civil case with prejudice, meaning the plaintiffs listed cannot refile the same case in his court. "This is not the first time plaintiffs have dismissed an action based on the same claims against the same defendants as in this case," the judge wrote. (Sutherland, 1/28)

In related news about covid mandates —

The Hill: New Jersey Gym Owner Who Defied COVID Closures Running For US House Seat 
A New Jersey gym owner who became known during the pandemic for defying the state’s COVID-19 closures is running for the U.S. House. Ian Smith, the owner of Atlis Gym in Bellmawr, announced on Twitter on Sunday that he is seeking to oust Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) to represent New Jersey’s third congressional district in Washington. (Schnell, 1/30)

Cincinnati Enquirer: At Vance Rally, Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls Vax Mandates 'Worst Thing That Has Ever Happened To America'
COVID-19 vaccine mandates are the "worst thing that has ever happened in America," U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., told a crowd in a suburban hotel just north of Cincinnati. About 200 people greeted "Hillbilly Elegy" author J.D. Vance and his new ally Greene on Sunday. The rally was heavy in praise for former President Donald Trump and criticism for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, and COVID-19 vaccine mandates. (Wartman, 1/30)

The Washington Post: America’s Split-Screen Pandemic: Many Families Resume Their Lives Even As Hospitals Are Overwhelmed
The El Campo Impact 13-and-under girls volleyball team was down by one point in their opening tournament of the year. It was Kamryn Thompson’s turn to serve, and it was a winner. Cheers and screams rose from the packed crowd of hundreds of maskless coaches, parents and siblings in a mid-January gathering that felt as if the coronavirus had never hit. About 15 miles away, Gabriela Hernandez was trapped behind a glass partition in a pediatric intensive care unit jammed with severely ill children battling covid-19. Her daughter, Kimberly, who is immunocompromised, had tested positive for the virus, and now her body was going haywire. Hernandez and the hospital’s medical teams were frustrated about the choices that have helped propel the virus’ spread and put vulnerable people like Kimberly at risk. (Cha, 1/28)

The Salt Lake Tribune: 174,000 People In Utah Weren’t Told Their Coronavirus Test Results Could’ve Been Wrong
Federal officials worried that more than 174,000 coronavirus patient test results from an Orem lab used by TestUtah were potentially wrong — but none of the people who were tested early in the pandemic were told, documents obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune show. Testing at Timpanogos Regional Hospital may have produced accurate results. Or its lab may have produced false negatives or false positives, according to documents and interviews with people familiar with the matter. (Becker, 1/30)

In other news about covid tests —

NPR: New Hampshire Will Sell Rapid COVID-19 Tests In Liquor Stores
If you live in New Hampshire and are having trouble getting an at-home rapid COVID-19 test, you might soon find them among the bottles at state-run liquor stores. The New Hampshire Executive Council approved the request to sell 1 million at-home rapid COVID tests at liquor outlets across the state, Gov. Christopher Sununu said. The governor said he expects the at-home tests to be available at liquor stores within the next two weeks. "We will buy them for a certain price. We will put them on the shelves and sell them for that exact same price, approximately in the $13 range," Sununu said during a news conference this week. (Franklin, 1/28)

Detroit Free Press: Free COVID-19 Tests Available At Detroit Libraries, To Vulnerable Communities
Free COVID-19 tests are coming to Detroit and other communities in Michigan vulnerable to the coronavirus through two programs, including a new one announced Friday. The Detroit Public Library will be handing out COVID-19 tests Tuesday at its main location and permanent branches. The number of free tests from the state health department will be "extremely limited" and will be given on a first-come, first-served basis from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. or until quantities run out. (Hall, 1/28)

AP: Albuquerque Is Distributing About 80K At-Home COVID-19 Tests
Some 80,000 at-home COVID-19 tests are beginning to be handed out by city officials in areas of Albuquerque determined to need them the most. The supplies are from the federal government and the distribution has started in areas of high social vulnerability. (1/30)

CNBC: How The U.S. Is Trying To Fix Its At-Home Covid Testing Problem
The latest Covid-19 wave during the busy holiday travel season caught the U.S. flat-footed when it came to one key tool in its pandemic-fighting arsenal: at-home rapid tests. “In the United States, we haven’t had federal guidance on how to make testing a regular part of your daily life or your daily week,” said Lindsey Dawson, a policy analyst at the Kaiser Family Foundation, in an interview with CNBC. “A comparison is the U.K., where it’s recommended people over 11 test twice a week. And in the U.S., if everybody over 11 tested twice a week, we would need 2.3 billion tests per month, and we’re not there.” (Higgins-Dunn, 1/28)

KHN: States Were Sharing Covid Test Kits. Then Omicron Hit
In a few short months, states have gone from donating surplus rapid covid-19 tests to states with shortages to hoarding them as demand driven by the spike in cases strains supplies. Last January, North Dakota had amassed 2.7 million Abbott Laboratories BinaxNOW rapid covid tests from the federal government — roughly 3½ tests for each person in the state of 775,000 people. (Houghton, 1/31)

KHN: It’s Day 6 Of Covid, And A Rapid Antigen Test Comes Back Positive. Stay Home, Say Virologists
What does it mean if a person’s rapid antigen test result comes back positive after five days of isolation due to covid-19? According to the experts, that person is most likely still carrying a viral load high enough to infect others. “Anytime you’re positive by one of these rapid at-home covid tests, it means that you’ve still got a really high level of the viral protein, and most experts are interpreting that as a high level of virus present in your nasal passage,” said Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at the Mayo Clinic and president of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology. (Bichell, 1/31)

In updates on contact tracing —

Oklahoman: Oklahoma Health Departments To Move Away From COVID-19 Contact Tracing
The state Health Department and health departments for Oklahoma and Tulsa counties issued a joint announcement Thursday saying they’d be moving away from universal case investigations and contact tracing for COVID-19. In part because of how the omicron variant has led to more cases than ever — many of which are less severe and detected through at-home testing — investigators and epidemiologists will instead focus on outbreaks and clusters in high-risk settings, the departments said. (Branham, 1/28)

AP: Over 1,000 Wichita School Workers Out Because Of COVID-19 
More than 1,000 staff members in the state’s largest school district are in quarantine because of COVID-19, but currently all Wichita schools are open. The Wichita Eagle reports that district records show that nearly 14% of the school district’s staff — some 1,033 people — were off because of COVID-19 illnesses or exposure as of Friday. That is up from 912 and 646 in the previous two weeks. (1/30)

The Texas Tribune: Omicron Leads To Record-High COVID-19 Cases In Texas Schools
Students in Texas public schools are experiencing another year upturned by COVID-19 as the delta and omicron variants spread. Most schools are resuming in-person classes after winter break with a greater emphasis on testing, vaccinations and masking even as the highly contagious omicron variant surges. For now, schools are prohibited from requiring masks, though some continue to ignore the governor’s order banning mask mandates. Children ages 5-11 are now eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Several districts have temporarily closed or altered operations to compensate for staff shortages due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases. (Huang, Cai and Lopez, 1/30)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Students Turn To Petitions, Walkouts Over Limited COVID-19 Rules 
For Texas high school students, keeping up with class work was hard enough before the pandemic. But then the pandemic hit, and with it came debates over everything having to do with Texas schools. Masks or no masks? Will online classes be available? Schools reopened last fall but are struggling to remain open in the midst of a coronavirus surge caused by the omicron variant. The semester has barely started, and so far, there have been 192,145 student COVID-19 cases and 61,142 staff cases, according to the Texas Education Agency. That appears to be the highest case level since the pandemic began in 2020, although the data collected by the state is often incomplete. (Park, 1/31)

The Mercury News: COVID: West Contra Costa Unified Avoids Teacher Strike
West Contra Costa Unified School District’s teachers union has agreed not to go on strike after the district promised new COVID-19 safety measures to drive down a large number of absences that have upended the district’s schools over the past month. United Teachers of Richmond, the faculty union, announced the tentative agreement in an email Saturday. The deal followed intensive negotiations that lasted until 3 a.m., past the Friday afternoon deadline that the union had set earlier in an ultimatum to the district. (Mukherjee, 1/29)

Politico: Omicron Has States Rethinking 'Broken' School Covid Testing 
State leaders and health experts are weighing a counterintuitive school Covid strategy: Less testing and contact tracing. Utah’s legislature suspended school testing requirements this month after high Covid rates strained the state’s system. Omicron’s quick spread left Vermont officials abandoning their onetime school test-and-trace program, while Massachusetts officials strongly encouraged schools to give up a diagnostics program endorsed by federal officials. (Perez Jr., 1/30)

On mental health —

The Boston Globe: Mental Health A Top Concern For Colleges As Students Return For Spring Semester
As the spring semester gets underway on campuses across the region, college mental health staff say they’re inundated with students seeking care — a sign that, though classes remain largely in person, the stressors caused by the pandemic over the past two years are far from gone. In recent months, many institutions have redoubled their efforts to meet the increased needs of students even as they’ve begun to shift their strategy away from a singular focus on therapy and toward an effort to help students form friendships and to foster a warmer, closer-knit, and more supportive campus culture. “We know we can’t counsel or therapy our way out,” said Barbara McCall, executive director of Middlebury College’s Center for Health and Wellness. (Krantz, 1/30)

The Hill: Senators Give Glimpse Into Upcoming Supreme Court Nomination Battle
Senators from both parties on Sunday gave a glimpse into how they might approach President Biden’s Supreme Court nomination, with some signaling they would support his choice of the first Black female justice and others suggesting his nominee wouldn’t get a single Republican vote. Biden last week reaffirmed a campaign promise that he would nominate a Black woman to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer at the end of the Supreme Court’s term later this year.  (Chohi, 1/30)

ABC News: Biden’s Handling Of Supreme Court Vacancy Has Been 'Clumsy At Best': Sen. Collins 
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said while she welcomes diversity on the Supreme Court, President Joe Biden's handling of replacing retiring Justice Stephen Breyer so far "has been clumsy at best." "I would welcome the appointment of a Black female to the court," the Republican senator told ABC "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday. "I believe that diversity benefits the Supreme Court. But the way that the president has handled this nomination has been clumsy at best." (Pietrorazio, 1/30)

The Hill: Cotton Says He Will Keep An 'Open Mind' On Biden's Supreme Court Nominee, But Doubts GOP Will Support Them 
Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton said on Sunday that he would keep an "open mind" when it came to President Biden's nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, adding, however, that he doubted the nominee would be someone whom the GOP could support. "Fox News Sunday" host Dana Perino asked Cotton how he intended to approach Biden's upcoming Supreme Court nomination, noting Vice President Harris's intense line of questioning against Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing when she was a senator. (Choi, 1/30)

CBS News: Graham Says He "Can't Think Of A Better Person" Than Michelle Childs For The Supreme Court 
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina praised U.S. District Judge Michelle Childs, a possible candidate to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court, on Sunday, saying he "can't think of a better person" for President Biden to consider. In an interview with "Face the Nation," Graham heaped praise on Childs, who sits on the federal district court in South Carolina, and said she is "highly qualified" and of "good character." (Quinn, 1/30)

AP: Clyburn, Architect Of Biden's Court Pledge, Pushes His Pick 
At President Joe Biden’s lowest moment in the 2020 campaign, South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn came to him with a suggestion: He should pledge to put the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. After some cajoling, Biden made the promise at a Democratic debate, a move Clyburn credits with turning out the Black support that helped Biden score a resounding victory in the South Carolina primary and ultimately win the White House. (Kennard, 1/30)

Some say President Biden shouldn't limit candidates based on race or gender —

ABC News: Majority Of Americans Want Biden To Consider 'All Possible Nominees' For Supreme Court Vacancy: POLL 
A new ABC News/Ipsos poll finds that a plurality of Americans view the Supreme Court as motivated by partisanship, while President Joe Biden's campaign trail vow to select a Black woman to fill a high-court vacancy without reviewing all potential candidates evokes a sharply negative reaction from voters. (Shepherd, 1/30)

In related news about the future of the Supreme Court —

The Hill: How Breyer's Replacement Could Reshape Court's Liberal Wing 
The seating of Biden’s nominee, who he has said would be the country’s first Black female justice, will not fundamentally shift the balance of the 6-3 conservative majority court. But replacing Breyer with a justice who is ideologically to his left could reshape the three-member liberal minority and alter the court in more subtle ways. ... Breyer’s departure means [Justice Sonia] Sotomayor will become the court’s senior-most liberal justice. Significantly, the senior-most justice in the majority selects which justice writes the opinion. The same goes for the losing side. ... Given the court’s conservative supermajority, liberal justices are often relegated to the dissenting minority on hot-button issues, from disputes over abortion restrictions and religious liberty to voting rights. Sotomayor, now the court’s most liberal member by a wide margin, has shown herself to be uncowed by the court’s ideological lopsidedness, frequently blasting conservative rulings with fiery dissents. (Kruzel, 1/30)

Stateline: Here's How Abortion Access Would Change If Supreme Court Erodes Roe
As the nation awaits a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could significantly erode abortion rights, state laws on the issue have taken on a whole new meaning. Soon, more than at any time in nearly half a century, obtaining an abortion will depend on where you live. In 1973, the high court guaranteed the right to abortion everywhere in its landmark Roe v. Wade decision. That ruling made state abortion bans largely symbolic, and federal courts routinely invalidated them. In many cases, the strictest laws represented political posturing without the risk of a public backlash because the statutes never took effect, said David Karol, an associate professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland. (Vestal, 1/28)

Chicago Tribune: Two Women Share Their Abortion Stories On The Anniversary Of Roe V. Wade: ‘I Can’t Imagine Not Having Been Able To Make That Decision’
Julie Storbeck, President of Northwest Indiana National Organization for Women and Indiana NOW, had an abortion in her early 20s to complete a miscarriage. Laura Welch, President of Illinois NOW, had an abortion after learning her fetus’ intestines and heart were developing outside the body and the brain was exposed. Both women had their abortions after Roe v. Wade became law in 1973. But, both women said they are very concerned that the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn the law, which was decided 49 years ago. (Kukulka, 1/30)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: AJC Poll: Georgians Oppose Permit-Less Gun Carry, Repeal Of Roe V. Wade
Nearly seven in 10 Georgia voters responding to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll say they are opposed to legislation to allow people to carry concealed weapons without a license, and more than two-thirds oppose overturning the decades-old U.S. Supreme Court decision that guaranteed the right to an abortion. The results suggest that Georgians do not want a return of the “culture wars,” the pursuit of hot-button topics that play to each party’s political base that are common during statewide election years. (Prabhu, 1/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Drugmakers Raised Prices By 6.6% On Average Early This Year
Drugmakers raised list prices by an average of 6.6% in the first few weeks of this year on cancer, diabetes and other prescription medicines, sticking with more moderate increases while lawmakers scrutinize pricing practices. In all, about 150 drugmakers raised prices on 866 products in the U.S. through Jan. 20, according to an analysis from Rx Savings Solutions, which sells software to help employers and health plans choose the least-expensive medicines. (Walker, 1/30)

And some senators want to extend the shelf life of some drugs —

AP: Senators: Extending Drug Shelf Life Could Ease Supply Woes 
Senators from Maine and Maryland want the federal government to extend the shelf life of prescription drugs that are in short supply to try to help address shortages. Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin introduced the bill, which would direct the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make the change. The FDA has said amending expiration dates of some drugs could help alleviate shortages, according to the senators. (1/30)

In other pharmaceutical industry news —

The Mercury News: Popular ’80s Party Drug Slowly Gains Respect As PTSD Treatment
Retired Army Sgt. Jonathan Lubecky couldn’t get the year he spent in Iraq out of his head. Loud noises and people wearing backpacks triggered flashbacks, and he regularly woke up from nightmares in a cold sweat. He tried to take his own life five times between 2006 and 2013. Afraid that his next suicide attempt would succeed, Lubecky signed up to participate in a clinical research study investigating whether MDMA, commonly known as Molly or Ecstasy, could help tame the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. “I thought it’d be fun to do and it might help for a month or two,” said Lubecky, 45. “I was wrong. It’s a f—— miracle.” (Prillaman, 1/30)

Stat: Roche Looks To Rival A Blockbuster Therapy With Newly Approved Vision Drug
Roche announced Friday that it received Food and Drug Administration approval for the first-ever bispecific antibody treatment for two common causes of vision loss, setting the stage for a battle with Regeneron, which markets a blockbuster drug in this space. The approval comes just a week after two studies published in The Lancet showed that the drug, Vabysmo, proved safe and effective in improving or maintaining vision in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema, conditions that together affect nearly 1.9 million people in the U.S. and 40 million worldwide. (Wosen, 1/28)

Stat: Illumina's Embrace Of Long-Read Technology Signals Shift In Market 
If DNA is the book of life, there’s a subplot around the race to read genetic information quickly, accurately, and cheaply. And the next chapter promises to be interesting. Gene-sequencing giant Illumina announced during this year’s J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference that it plans to roll out a new technology in the latter half of 2022, dubbed Infinity, which will read DNA in far larger chunks than the firm has ever tackled before. It’s an approach that could help diagnose rare diseases and decipher parts of the human genome that have long remained a mystery to researchers. (Wosen, 1/31)

Modern Healthcare: Socioeconomic Status Only Modestly Influences Readmissions, Yale Study Finds
The factors often blamed for poor hospital readmission rates—socioeconomic status, access to care and insurance coverage—do not account for why readmissions are higher at some hospitals than others or why Medicare-Medicaid dual eligibles are readmitted more often, new research shows. Yale University researchers led a team that compared readmissions among patients diagnosed with three major acute conditions who covered by both Medicare and Medicaid to those with Medicare alone for an article published in JAMA Health Forum on Friday. (Gillespie, 1/28)

In news about health insurers —

Georgia Health News: Judge Extends Order, Keeping Northside Patients In Anthem Network Till Spring
A Fulton County judge Friday extended a reprieve in the contract dispute between Northside Hospital and Anthem until April 15, delaying for a second time the need for thousands of patients to switch doctors. Northside patients who have Anthem insurance have been caught in the middle of the battle between the insurer and hospital system for months. They were facing the risk that their in-network insurance coverage for Northside hospitals and doctors would end at midnight Monday. The decision by Judge Rachelle Carnesale extends the temporary restraining order put in place earlier this month and includes a provision that Anthem and Northside have a “judicially hosted” settlement conference by Feb. 25. (Miller, 1/29)

Modern Healthcare: Aetna Wrongfully Denied Proton Therapy Claims, Court Rules
Aetna wrongfully denied coverage of cancer patients' proton therapy after the insurer tried to prove that the treatment was experimental and investigational, a federal judge ruled. Aetna's ambiguous definition of "medically necessary" failed to justify its exclusion of proton therapy for treating non-metastatic breast or prostate cancer in adults, Judge Kenneth Marra ruled in a summary judgment from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Thursday. The lawsuit will now proceed to class certification that could expose Aetna to liability for a group of patients with similar complaints. (Kacik, 1/28)

Modern Healthcare: BCBSA Invests In Digital Health Savings Account Startup
Digital benefits startup First Dollar raised $14 million led by Blue Cross Blue Shield Association's venture arm, with participation from Next Coast Ventures and Meridian Street Capital, the company announced on Thursday. First Dollar, which offers a digital wallet consumers can use to spend tax-advantaged cash like Health Savings Accounts, adds the Series A round to cash from angel investors Firefly Health CEO Fay Rotenberg, Bright Health Group chief technology officer Brian Gambs, RPM Ventures Managing Director Marc Weiser and more. The Austin-based company said it has raised $19 million in total venture funding. (Tepper, 1/28)

In other health care industry news —

Modern Healthcare: ThedaCare Scraps Lawsuit To Prevent Employees From Leaving For Ascension
ThedaCare has halted its attempt to get a court to block seven employees from leaving to work at a competitor, the Neenah, Wisconsin-based health system announced Friday. The case against Ascension Northeast Wisconsin faced an uphill battle after a judge lifted an temporary order blocking the workers from quitting ThedaCare's flagship hospital for the same positions less than seven miles away at St. Louis-based Ascension's Appleton facility. ThedaCare's attorney filed a voluntary dismissal notice in Outagamie County Circuit Court on Friday. (Bannow, 1/28)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Home Health Care Shortages Have Families Struggling
A survey this month of 122 members of the Pennsylvania Home Care Association found that their nonmedical care worker staffs have declined by a quarter since the beginning of 2020 and skilled medical care workers by 20%. More than 90% of providers surveyed said they had declined requests for care since 2020 due to staff shortages. Some home health workers have found more lucrative jobs and may never return, said Denise Tyler, an expert on aging policy and long-term care with the nonprofit research institute RTI International. (Laughlin, 1/31)

Fox News: Alcohol Consumption Can Directly Cause Cancer, Study Says
The consumption of alcohol is a direct cause of several kinds of cancer, according to researchers. In a recent large-scale genetic study led by Oxford Population Health and published in the International Journal of Cancer, a team from Oxford, Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, worked to investigate gene variants linked to lower alcohol consumption in Asian populations. To do so, the team used DNA samples from more than 150,000 adults – the majority of whom were women – in the China Kadoorie Biobank study. (Musto, 1/29)

In other public health news —

NPR: Researchers Find Alzheimer's Link To Overactive Microglia Cells
It all started with genetic data. A gene here, a gene there. Eventually the story became clearer: If scientists are to one day find a cure for Alzheimer's disease, they should look to the immune system. Over the past couple decades, researchers have identified numerous genes involved in various immune system functions that may also contribute to Alzheimer's. Some of the prime suspects are genes that control humble little immune cells called microglia, now the focus of intense research in developing new Alzheimer's drugs. Microglia are amoeba-like cells that scour the brain for injuries and invaders. They help clear dead or impaired brain cells and literally gobble up invading microbes. Without them, we'd be in trouble. (Stetka, 1/30)

NBC News: Marijuana Use May Cause Cognitive Impairment Even When No Longer High
A recent analysis of previous research on the impact of cannabis on young’s people’s cognition found that many of the known learning and memory difficulties — such as slowed processing speed, and difficulties in focusing — could linger for weeks. Verbal learning, retention and recall were especially affected for longer periods when the person was no longer high, researchers from the University of Montreal found. (Carroll, 1/30)

The Washington Post: Bed Rest After Hospitalization May Hamper Recovery For Older Patients 
Hospitalization often spells the beginning of the end of older patients’ mobility. Bed rest could be to blame — and in-hospital exercise programs could provide the jump-start older patients need to maintain their functionality at home, a study in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests. (Blakemore, 1/30)

Axios: Rising Workplace Benefit: Fertility Services 
Employers are beefing up benefits packages to lure workers in a tight labor market, and many are adding pricey fertility benefits — such as in-vitro fertilization and egg freezing — to their offerings. Benefits around fertility and family-building have long been overlooked by employer health care plans, but that's rapidly changing. "You see couples today that are living child-free, and a lot of times that's their decision, but a lot of times it's not," says Gina Bartasi, founder and CEO of the fertility clinic Kindbody. (Pandey, 1/31)

WGCU: Mask Litter Is A Worldwide Problem With Serious Environmental Ramifications, Study Shows
Discarded cigarette butts, cans and bottles have been fouling Florida’s beaches, preserves and parking lots for as long as people have been using such items, and now there is a new scourge being mixed in: discarded masks used to protect the wearer from COVID-19. Masks come in many shapes and sizes, but one commonality is too many of them are being discarded everywhere except in a trash can. Some were white but have been trampled by dirty sneakers and driven over by car tires so many times the masks are spotted brown, flattened and stuck to the pavement. Others were light blue, but now white fibers from the inside show through. Red ones shine so brightly they can be seen from far away. Masks dropped to the ground are a threat to wildlife, and when washed into sewers they have the potential to clog sewage systems. (Bayles, 1/30)

In news about water safety —

Axios: Navy To Drain Polluted Water After Fuel Contamination In Hawaii 
The Hawaii Department of Health authorized the Navy on Thursday to discharge treated water from its Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility after the water forced Army and Navy families from their homes into hotels. The contaminated tap water contained diesel fuel 350 times the safe level after a jet-fuel spill in November. The Navy will pump up to 5 million gallons of water a day from the Red Hill Shaft into the Halawa Stream in order to get rid of the contaminated tap water. The discharge was authorized under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System general permit. (Frazier, 1/29)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Toxic Foam Used At Military Bases Raises Contamination Concerns
Cleanup of cancer-causing contaminants found at hundreds of military installations — including those in Nevada — has prompted frustrated senators to urge the Pentagon to improve communication with local communities to develop long-term plans to reduce health risks. High levels of contamination in Nevada were found at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs and particularly at Nellis Air Force Base, which landed on a Superfund clean-up list under the Environmental Protection Agency. The groundwater contamination is at unsafe levels and could spread. (Martin, 1/28)

North Carolina Health News: Chemours’ Program Could Aide Homes With PFAS-Contaminated Wells
Representatives of the Chemours chemical company are expected to show up at Laura Adams’ Cumberland County home next week to walk her through the policies, procedures and potential cost of connecting to public water under a new pilot program. Adams found out in June that the well water at her home on Anniston Street – in the Black Bridge subdivision between Hope Mills and Parkton in Cumberland County – is polluted with per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS, or forever chemicals. Since then, the Chemours Fayetteville Works plant has been supplying Adams and thousands of other people in Cumberland, Robeson and Bladen counties with either bottled water, under-the-sink reverse osmosis filtration systems or whole-house granular activated carbon systems to keep them from drinking their potentially cancer-causing well water. (Barnes, 1/31)

AP: US Pushes For Better Tap Water But Must Win Over Wary Public
Angela Stamps won’t drink water from her faucet, showers less and no longer takes the baths she once found relaxing. She doesn’t cook with tap water and sometimes skips rinsing her produce. Even though the amount of lead in Flint, Michigan’s tap water has been well below a key state threshold for several years, she hasn’t been able to stop worrying since going through the trauma of the city’s lead crisis.“I just don’t trust it,” she said. (Phillis, 1/30)

In other environmental health news —

The Texas Tribune and ProPublica: EPA Rejects Texas’ More Lenient Standard For Highly Toxic Air Pollutant 
As part of a sweeping announcement detailing strategies to crack down on toxic industrial air pollution, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced this week it was moving to formally reject Texas’ less protective standard for the potent carcinogen ethylene oxide and stick with its own scientific conclusions, a move that clears the way for significant reductions in emissions nationwide. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan announced the decision after an investigation by ProPublica, in collaboration with the Texas Tribune, revealed that ethylene oxide, a low-odor, ubiquitous gas that is used to make everyday household items like dish soap, is contributing to the majority of the excess industrial cancer risk in the United States. (Collier and Miller, 1/28)

The Texas Tribune: State Report Shows How Agency Misses Pollution Spikes During Storms 
The Texas agency tasked with enforcing clean air rules often does not monitor industrial pollution during and immediately after severe weather events — often the height of emissions from refineries and chemical plants — leaving a hole in the state’s knowledge of air quality, according to a new state report. Industrial facilities, like oil refineries and chemical plants along the Texas Gulf Coast, typically shut down in advance of hurricanes and other storms to keep workers safe and avoid spills. But the process can cause pollution above what’s permitted or healthy. Emergency shutdowns and other accidents, equipment breakdowns and power failures during the storms tend to create even worse levels of pollution as plants burn off waste gases, which include health pollutants and climate-warming greenhouse gases such as nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds. (Douglas, 1/28)

Detroit Free Press: No Health Risk Found In Air Near Jeep Plant In Detroit
Residents who have been complaining for months about strong paint odors from a Stellantis plant on Detroit's east side received some assurance Thursday night from a state toxicologist about health risks of the air in their neighborhood but left frustrated over unanswered questions and uncertainty over asthma and other concerns. A community outcry over the air around the plant, which makes new versions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, has led to multiple investigations and violation notices from the state and prompted the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to lead a virtual community meeting Thursday, attended at one point by almost 150 people who heard from state and federal environmental and health officials. (Lawrence, 1/28)

Bangor Daily News: No One Knows How Many 'Forever Chemicals' Could Be In Maine's Organic Foods
Mainers who have purchased food from local farms certified as organic have felt safe in the knowledge that the label meant they were getting a chemical-free product. But the discovery of high levels of forever chemicals in soil and groundwater is throwing into question the safety of food grown or raised in the state. Songbird Organic Farm in Unity  halted all sales and pulled its products from store shelves earlier this week after its water, soil and produce tested positive for toxins known collectively as forever chemicals, or PFAS and PFOS. (Bayly, 1/29)

Georgia Health News: Emory Med Students Learn Health Risks Of Climate Change 
Emory Medical School’s administration is making climate change a formal part of its curriculum. It’s the culmination of several years of student-led efforts to ensure Emory’s future doctors learn about the growing health impact of a warming planet, because climate change doesn’t just bring hotter weather and more extreme storms. It also makes many health issues worse – issues that doctors need to recognize and treat. Those issues were top of mind for second-year medical student Irene Liu when she was applying to medical schools. She had been interested in climate advocacy for a long time, and wanted to find a school where she could focus on the environment – but that didn’t work out. (Jones, 1/28)

ABC News: 14 Guests At Ohio Hotel, Including At Least 6 Children, Hospitalized After Carbon Monoxide Leak
Fourteen guests at an Ohio hotel were hospitalized, including some who are in critical condition, due to a "life-threatening" carbon monoxide leak, police said. Police responded to several 911 calls Saturday evening of people found unconscious around the pool area of the Hampton Inn in Marysville, Ohio, police said. Marysville is a suburb of Columbus. (Pereira and McDuffie, 1/30)

San Francisco Chronicle: The Pandemic Exacerbated S.F.’s Overdose Epidemic. 2021 Data Shows Just How Much
In 2021, preliminary data shows 650 people died of accidental drug overdoses in San Francisco. That’s about 60 fewer than in 2020, when overdose deaths spiked across the U.S. as measures to curb the virus isolated people and shut down or disrupted services for those dealing with substance use. Last year was also a time of a new level of urgency and awareness surrounding the overdose epidemic in San Francisco, with the city implementing new approaches to curb it. It’s not yet clear if the small decline in deaths — about 60 fewer in 2021 than 2020 — is proof that the city’s various response programs are making a dent. (Jung, 1/30)

AP: Study Finds Litany Of Mental Health Issues At Vermont Prison
Staff and inmates at the Vermont state prison in Springfield have high rates of suicidal thoughts, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues, according to a survey conducted by University of Vermont researchers. According to the survey done last June, 49% of staff at the Southern State Correctional Facility developed anxiety since starting their career, 46% developed depression, 43% became overweight or obese, 40% developed high blood pressure and 39% developed post-traumatic stress disorder, The Times Argus reported. (1/30)

WUSF Public Media: This Tampa Nonprofit Uses A Holistic Approach To Treat Vets With Post-Combat Trauma 
In 2019, 6,261 veterans died by suicide, a rate that was 52% higher than that for nonveteran adults. A Tampa nonprofit founded by a former special forces colonel is working to lower the risk to vets by using a holistic approach to help them deal with trauma and continue to find purpose in life after their service. Damon Friedman is president and founder of SOF Missions, which provides free five-day health clinics called “Be Resilient” for veterans. Friedman said that he believes trauma is processed in multiple domains, so he uses what he calls a “whole health” model to address psychological, social, physical, and spiritual wellness. (Bruner, 1/30)

Kansas City Star: Kansas Mothers Want Help Lowering Maternal Mortality Rate
When Stacey Knoell, executive director of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission, gave birth to her second child, a C-section at 39 weeks, she heard the doctor say, “She’s bleeding.” “With those two words, ‘She’s bleeding,’ I feared I would become just another statistic in a long line of Black women who died in childbirth,” said Knoell, who was at high risk of complications because of previous surgeries on her uterus. About 700 U.S. women a year die during pregnancy, child birth or from complications within 12 months. Black women are three times more likely to succumb from pregnancy-related causes than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Maternal mortality can be preventable if correct steps are taken, the CDC said. (Peterson, 1/30)

AP: Universal Health Care Bill Faces Deadline In California
California Democrats must decide Monday whether to advance a bill that would make the government pay for everybody’s health care in the nation’s most populous state; a key test of whether one of their most long-sought policy goals can overcome fierce opposition from business groups and the insurance industry. A bill in the state Legislature would create the nation’s only statewide universal health care system. It’s still a long way from becoming law, but Monday is the last chance for lawmakers in the Assembly to keep the bill alive this year. (Beam, 1/31)

The New York Times: What We Can Learn From How The 1918 Pandemic Ended 
Most histories of the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed at least 50 million people worldwide say it ended in the summer of 1919 when a third wave of the respiratory contagion finally subsided. Yet the virus continued to kill. A variant that emerged in 1920 was lethal enough that it should have counted as a fourth wave. In some cities, among them Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Kansas City, Mo., deaths exceeded even those in the second wave, responsible for most of the pandemic’s deaths in the United States. This occurred despite the fact that the U.S. population had plenty of natural immunity from the influenza virus after two years of several waves of infection and after viral lethality in the third wave had already decreased. (John M. Barry, 1/30)

The Atlantic: Race-Based Rationing Of COVID Treatment Is Real—And Dangerous 
In a series of articles this month, The Washington Free Beacon’s Aaron Sibarium reported that hospitals in Minnesota, Utah, New York, Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin have been using race as a factor in which COVID-19 patients receive scarce monoclonal-antibody treatments first. Last year, SSM Health, a network of 23 hospitals, began using a points system to ration access to Regeneron. The drug would be given to patients only if they netted 20 points or higher. Being “non-White or Hispanic” counted for seven points, while obesity got you only one point—even though, according to the CDC, “obesity may triple the risk of hospitalization due to a COVID-19 infection.” Based on this scoring system, a 40-year-old Hispanic male in perfect health would receive priority over an obese, diabetic 40-year-old white woman with asthma and hypertension. (Shadi Hamid, 1/30)

NBC News: Covid-19 Omicron Variant Might Be Weaker, But 'Letting It Rip' Is Not A Smart Idea
Have you reached your breaking point with the pandemic? Are you ready to throw up your hands, let down your guard and accept that you’ll probably get Covid-19? Many Americans are openly wondering if this is the way to go. The U.K., Netherlands, France and several other E.U. countries are rolling back most of their Covid restrictions, and Australia, until now a global model for Covid mitigation, has flipped its approach from a “zero Covid” strategy to just “let it rip.” Many pundits, politicians and others are publicly saying that they are “over” Covid. You know who else is over Covid? The nearly 16,000 people who died from the virus between Jan. 19 and Jan. 25. (Brian Castrucci and Beth S. Linas, 1/28)

NBC News: Georgia's Abortion Pill Bill Wouldn't Only Harm Women Seeking The Service
Forty-nine years ago, the Supreme Court gave women the legal right to bodily autonomy. To plan our families so we can welcome children when we are ready. To have control over our economic and career destinies. To have access to safe and optimal health care. When I started my training as an OB-GYN in 1989, my professors, pointing to the women's wards, explained that before Roe v. Wade, the beds were full of women injured from illegal abortions. It had been 16 years since the ruling, and my fellow residents and I were grateful to learn how to provide safe, legal abortions — then and now considered essential care for obstetrics and gynecology services. Medical residents with religious or moral objections can opt out of this training. (Mimi Zieman, 1/28)

San Jose Mercury News: California Single-Payer Bill Shows State Can’t Go It Alone
The United States must switch to a more cost-effective system to remain competitive in the global marketplace. But that requires a prudent financial plan that drives down costs, improves health care outcomes for all and has the support of business and labor. The single-payer legislation proposed by Assemblyman Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, and under consideration in the California Legislature fails to meet that standard. It’s small wonder that Gov. Gavin Newsom, who campaigned in favor of single-payer health care, has remained largely silent on the Kalra proposal. (1/26)

Modern Healthcare: A Different Kind Of Consult: Pro-Bono Community Health Consulting By Med Students 
Since 2015, groups of medical students at the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago have been working diligently to answer a single question: How can we improve healthcare at the system level? Medical students have and always will be expected to provide personalized, high-quality care to their patients. But amid all the studying, rotations, research and clinical volunteering, there is another area of professional growth and healthcare activism emerging that allows students to promote broader change across the healthcare system: community health consulting. (Scott Wu and Dr. Abel Kho, 1/28)

Stat: The Hospital Of The Future Won't Be What You Expect 
Close your eyes for a few seconds and imagine what a hospital will look like 10 years in the future. If medical robots, artificial intelligence, and other technologies come to mind, you are on the right track. But if you picture these innovations happening in a sprawling hospital campus, think again. Radical changes afoot in health care philosophy, medical technology, and treatment capability will lead to hospital-quality care being administered outside of hospitals — in primary care and urgent care center and in people’s homes. These changes will create more comfortable conditions for patients, yield better outcomes, and be more affordable. (Rob Rohatsch, 1/31)

Stat: A Devil's Choice: Take Humira And Risk Getting Covid-19? 
Harebrained. That’s the best word to describe my starting to take an immunosuppressing drug like Humira in the midst of a pandemic where a counterattack by the immune system is the body’s best defense. The only thing more insane would have been not doing that and letting rheumatoid arthritis eat away at the tissue in my wrists without trying the most promising treatment for arresting the disease’s progress. A devil’s bargain, indeed. But it’s not mine alone: Millions of others with chronic conditions face comparably high-stakes gambles in this time of the coronavirus. (Larry Tye, 1/31)